I am far a long in my process with the police agency I applied for last year. The reason for this I believe, is the decision to "be more catholic than the pope" in my answers to recruitment officers.
The more integrity you show, the more you are open about past problems, and the more you accept responsibility for what you have done, it shows that you are a person worthy of getting a look at. Policing is not planting trees for a living, you are accountable for every millisecond you are wearing that badge, and even MORE accountable when your not wearing it, who you are and how you represent yourself.
I've read a few troubling posts on here about people asking if its ok to "doop" the people in your interview to make your past look more "sellable" if you happen to lie about using marijuana or past problems that are not appealing.
Listen, there are people who have gone there whole lives without trying drugs, drinking, and as such, those are the same people who are being hired by the truckload.
When I was a kid I smoked marijuana a handful of times, then I made my own decision not to continue using that substance and hanging out with the "wrong crowd". I turned out to be a pretty good person in my opinion, however I've always listened to my parents who were my role models, who always stressed to tell truth even if it means your going to die, tell the truth.
I was no pothead, but did I experiment, sure, I can openly admit I smoked dope probably 8 times in my entire life. I can also admit that nobody put a gun to my head to make that poor decision to experiment with that substance. I didn't have a rough day, I didn't break up with my girlfriend, I didn't try it to be cool, I made a decision to smoke marijuana. Wrong is wrong. The why's and how's, as much as we like to all back on those, just aren't relevant.
So, pretty negative? look at this guy smoked pot when he was younger... but there are some positives
1) I've never bought it
2) I've never transported it
3) I've never used any harder drugs
When I move into the polygraph part of my hiring process I can't wait to sit in that chair and show them just why I should be hired. I'm not going to concentrate on deceiving them so I have a better chance to be hired, I am going to concentrate on being honest and showing integrity. If that means I am not right for policing, then so be it.
In my example its not very extreme compared some people’s past, because it was so long ago it's more or less going to be a non issue. There are many recruits who have used marijuana habitually, used harder drugs, I can't speak if these people ever get hired, but if not, that is a consequence of
YOUR decision.
If your passionately sorry about your actions, there are still many possibilities of careers in LE that you can help with, I know in Canada there are civilian members who do amazing work in assisting the police and the community set up projects such as getting kids off the street etc. If your response to that is "ick, if I can't be a cop, screw it I’ll do something else". Then you couldn't possibly make a good officer as you can't give anything of yourself or feel as passionate about it as you originally thought.
Sorry again to kind of rant, I'm just shocked at people who think that police agencies expect "perfect", do you think every police officer on the street has perfect pasts?
C’MON , you know better.. but what they had to capacity to do, was never go over that line, and didn't hide and make excuses for their past. They embraced it and showed what they have learned from it.
Moral of this rant, Don't lie and just give it all you have. Show why you want the
Privilege of being a police officer.
Being a peace officer is not something you deserve, it's a privilege.
Good luck in achieving your dreams!
Andy
(fellow recruit)
*If your looking for a cool new way to spell "recruit", check out the way I spelled it in the thread topic
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